Star Trek: Federation Marines
by rdahljr
Summary: Story about the little known Federation Marine Corps. Takes place in the 24th century during the Dominion War, there will be various Intermissions at certain points of the story will expand on the information related to the Starfleet Marine Corps. Follows the character of Marine Captain Alex Troutman.
1. Chapter 1

STAR TREK Federation Marine Corps

Chapter 1

Rating: T for combat situations

Disclaimer: All things Star Trek and any references to Deep Space Nine and the characters within belong to Paramount. This story is merely fiction based on that universe.

ASSAULT AT AR-558

Background: This story takes place during and after the Deep Space Nine Episode, "Siege of AR 558," during the Dominion war in mid-2375. It picks up from the perspective of the relief forces and the follow securing of the communication beacon from the defenders on the planet.

Captain Alex Troutman walked into the U.S.S. _Veracruz_' drop bay for final inspection of his assault company. As part of the relief force approaching the Chin'toka system, Starfleet had a critical communications array that had to be secure. He did not know if the U.S.S. _Defiant_ under Captain Sisko had been able to maintain the security of the communication array with the remaining 43 marines on the ground. His assumption was no and his company would have to fight its way to the objective. Along with his infantryman, he had an engineering section attached to his company for repairing the communications array.

His current command (not including the engineering section), Bravo Company, totaled 100 personnel all highly trained Marines and one Klingon. They were of various races from the Federation. Mostly were human, but many were Andorian, and Vulcans and even one Klingon exchange officer from the Klingon Defense Force serving as his third platoon leader. Consisting of four platoons, of which three were rifle platoons of maneuver infantryman. Other sections within the company include a company headquarters section, an anti-armor section and an indirect fire section. The command section consists of him, the commander, the first sergeant, company medic (a detailed Starfleet medical corpsman) and his communications Marine (e.g., archaic term: the RTO). In the anti-armor section, the Marines employ phased weapons for anti-armor or anti-structure destruction. and an indirect fire support section. The indirect fire section or commonly called the mortar section employs various mortar weapons in support of the direct fire platoons.

First Sergeant Jameson, the company first sergeant, a battle-hardened marine of the Klingon War a few years back, walks up to the Captain with the final status report on the company.

"Everyone's ready to go, sir," he states, "All weapons and vehicles ready for the drop."

"Thanks, first sergeant. Ensure your platoon sergeants have policed up their lieutenants, we're about ten minutes out from planetary drop," Troutman says.

"Roger, that, sir," and with that, he turned and headed off to meet with his platoon sergeants. The first sergeant was going to be nominally in charge of the engineering section during the operation and the casualty collection point from his drop ship location. The engineering section would be divided among three transports ensuring at least some of them would make it to the array.

With that, Captain Troutman finished securing his combat gear, donned his Kevlar reinforced helmet and got on the armored drop ship. Taking his seat right behind the pilots, he linked his combat PADD to the drop ship communications system with a few taps of his fingers. From here he'd be able to monitor the progress of the drop from his wrist and if need be, access the systems of the drop ship. Looking around at his men, he noticed only about one or two were nervous, but all looked ready. Many of his men were combat veterans of previous engagements during the Dominion war. Weapons were stowed and gear secured in and around their seats. All of them looked ready for a fight...for which Marines are noted.

Along with his drop ships, the drop ship would be accompanied by two wings (three each) of F/I (fighter/interceptor)-375 Valkyrie starfighters. His company was cross-loaded among four armored transports (one platoon each, with elements of the command section in each of the transports). He would be in the first transport, with his first sergeant in the trail transport. Should anything happen to him during the drop, the first sergeant can lead to and secure the company objective. This was Captain Troutman's third actual combat drop, two being during the Klingon war of a few years back. As he was waiting for the green light from the starship, he reminisced on his brief career as a Marine.

Alex Troutman was born in Arizona on the North American continent on Earth. Like most humans of his time, his goals were of going to the stars. Unlike his contemporary peers, his parents had come from a long line of American warriors all the way back to the 20th century. His grandfather would talk of the various wars and the ancestors that had served in the then United States of America. His grandfather even had an archaic medal passed down to him from a few generations before. The medal was unique unto itself due to the fact that it was worn around the neck versus a ribbon on the chest.

He initially started out in Starfleet academy with a goal of serving in Starfleet and on a starship, but his view of the so-called diplomatic attitude of some of the Starfleet instructors led him to think that most of the Federation's problems were caused by not adopting a more direct attitude with other races within the galaxy, such as the Klingons or Romulans. Troutman never really believed in the manufactured peace that was assumed by the other races in the Federation. This attitude made him switch career paths and apply to the Starfleet Marine Corp at his graduation, not as a Starfleet Ensign, but as a Marine Second Lieutenant.

Assigned to the U.S.S. _Tecumseh_, under Captain Raymond, Troutman and his assigned Marines saw intense and extensive combat against the Cardassians. Earning the Starfleet Medal of Valor for his actions against the enemy during that time period, intense combat that eventually degraded into hand to hand combat allowing Federation forces to win the battle, but Coming out of that little war was bittersweet due to the mismanaged treaty negotiations that some Federation members.

The beeping sound coming from his combat PADD on his wrist indicated to him that the starfighters were leaving the _Veracruz_ and getting into position prior to their drop. Their mission was to open a hole in the enemy defenses long enough for the combat transports to get his company down to the surface.

As the Valkyries left the drop bay, Troutman tapped his communicator,

"Troutman to Bravo, five minutes out...stand by over,"

A series of 'ayes, yes sirs, and one 'qapla' came back over communications.

"Reed to Troutman," the captain of the _Veracruz_ came over his communicator.

"Troutman here, sir."

"Your drop is going to be rough and we're going for the polar approach to give your transports a more fighting chance to get to the ground," the captain explained.

"Understood, sir. Is there any chance that we'll get beefed up?" Troutman asked.

"I'm afraid not, captain. All available personnel and ships that are available are being massed for another front...at which I can't talk about on an open line," Captain Reed replied.

"No problem, we'll get in and secure our objective. Just get us to the planet sir."

The U.S.S. _Veracruz_ approached at high warp toward the planet's north pole, with her Valkyrie escorts, the Marines anxiously awaited their drop onto AR-558.

...TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

From last chapter…

As the assault craft approached the planet, Capt Troutman's drop craft were awaiting the drop signal from the Veracruz…

Above AR-558…

The U.S.S. Veracruz dropped out of warp barely within the safety margin for warp vessels disgorging its marine drop crafts and assault wings. Normal procedures called for a drop window of 10 minutes over a planetary body, but since there was the added threat of Jem'H'Dar vessels in the area, all craft were required to get out of the starship within 5 minutes. Not a hard thing to do, but it did decrease the safety margin of safe exits.

As soon as the last craft left the starship, it warped out of system in order to avoid any potential enemy attack and get into a better defensible position. It's mission was to provide as much overhead cover of the planet, but also to make it back to the rest of the fleet should its position become untenable.

All crafts descended through the atmosphere riding the air currents trying to make for a smooth and safe decent.

Aboard the lead vessel, Capt Troutman, commed each of his flight leads..

"All leads, radio silence from now on until get into the lower atmosphere and only then battle commands until 20 minutes from the drop zone."

Each craft exited the higher stratosphere into the lower troposphere and engaged the energy and visual stealth countermeasures on their craft. These countermeasures were the 24th century of a earlier stealth technologies and incorporated measures to defeat the entire electromagnetic spectrum in addition to several subspace wavelengths to hide their approach. Unique engine exhaust dampening technologies cover the heat trail of the atmospheric thrusters of each craft.

As the marines approached their drop zone, they took up a flight formation with their fighter escorts on the outside of the drop ships.

Capt. Troutman looked at his display board… he commed his mike… "all flight leads, we're 20 mikes out, attack pattern alpha. Escort ships, you are clear to prep the landing zone."

The attack escort ships increased speed and began their attack run on the intended drop zone. Their mission was to 'sanitize' the drop zone with aerial plasma bombs in order to clear out any enemy units on the ground and remove any enemy anti-aircraft batteries.

Per the ground tactical plan, the marines were to drop within 2 kilometers from the largest Jem H'Dar concentration. Most of the ground forces of the Jem H'Dar were positioned in several large areas in between the marine landing force and the communications array.

Troutman's plan was to engage the Jem H'Dar from their weak side and close with and destroy their base with a combination of close air and deliberate ground force attacks in order to defeat their forces. Victory would be determined by the amount of destruction of forces he could effect on the enemy and the eventual link up with the forces pinned down at the communications array. The plan had to be quick and forceful due to reports that the combined marine and Starfleet personnel there were in danger of being overrun by the Jem H'Dar forces.

The attack fighter sped ahead and began 'prepping' of the drop zone. Numerous explosions and fires erupted as the fighter dislodged their air to ground plasma bombs. These bombs are very similar to photon torpedoes, but adapted for air to ground engagements.

As the F-375 Valkyrie's orbited the drop zone, they continued their prep of the area in addition to placing the enemy and enemy emplacements.

"Shark lead," commed Lt. Fredericks, "Drop zone is cleared, you are free to land. Be advised, drop zone will be hot. I repeat, drop zone will hot."

"Acknowledged," Troutman responded. His next communication was to the transport pilots, "Initiate landing procedures, drop zone will hot."

Each drop pilot commed back their acknowledgement and began their approach.

After his command, the status lights near the exit doors started opening and each load master on the transports moved to ensure the doors were clear. The transports would proceed with the doors open 2 minutes out in order get acclimated to the battlefield. All during this time, each marine rifleman were turning on and checking the power levels of their standard issue M-155A2 Marine Assault Phaser Rifle. and gave their gear minor adjustments in preparation prior to exiting. Junior leaders were getting prepped and checking last minutes orders on their arm PADDS.

Capt. Troutman unhooked his harness and got up from his seat, grabbed his M-155A2 and moved to the aft door, and turned on his combat communicator. He moved to the door and waited for the red light to turn green. Looking out over the terrain as it rushed by, he could almost feel the wind through his combat visor. He looked back to the marines behind him and nodded with pride that this was some of the Federation's little known weapon. These marines were trained killers, not explorers and their mission was to take the war to the enemy.

The load master tapped him on the shoulder, "Sir, 1 minute out."

Troutman nodded and raise his arm toward the marines behind and indicated a '1' with his finger.

All of them knew that was the signal, one minute out. Each marine unhooked his seat harness and got ready…

TBC….


	3. Intermission 1

Marine History:

The current Federation Starfleet Marine Corps (SFMC) takes its heritage from the various nation Marine Corps from planet Earth. Most notably, many of the traditions, operational concepts and execution comes from the United States Marine Corp from the early 21st Century. When the United Federation of Planets was established in 2161, there was a need for member planets to provide military defense in times of trouble such as war or alien invasions. With the dissolving of the Military Assault Command Organization (MACO) that was a part of the Earth Defense Forces, Starfleet decided to incorporate a separate but autonomous operating branch of the combined Starfleet Operating forces.

Seeing a need to incorporate this branch, its founder, Admiral Malcom Reed became the first Fleet Marshall and established the marines under Starfleet auspices. In the beginning, many of the tactics and operational concepts came from experiences in the Romulan and Klingon wars of the early 22nd century.

Primary Role

The mission of the Corps is to follow Federation directives, acting to preserve the peace and uphold Federation law.

Secondary Role

Placed on Starfleet vessels, Marines are charged with shipboard security, but do not walk a patrol, investigate crime or administer the brig and, unlike tactical, Marines do not operate the ship's weaponry. As a result of their mixed land and space role, Marine forces are mainly specialized in amphibious (figuratively 'of two worlds') assaults using infantry, armor, artillery, air/spacecraft, and watercraft. They train for many combat scenarios including hostage recovery, rescue of Federation citizens caught in the midst of civil war as well as full ground based combat.

Organization

The Federation Marines are commanded by a Force Marshall, which is the equivalent of a Starfleet Fleet Admiral and has equal authority for Federation Marine forces. The SFMC is split into ten numbered Expeditionary Forces. Within each expeditionary force are five Corps, plus a Brigade each of Artillery and Marine Rangers. Every corps has three Divisions each made up of three Brigades and an Armored Regiment. A brigade has five Regiments and a Battalion of Marine Scouts. A Regiment is two Battalions of five Companies each, plus an extra Platoon of scouts. Every Company is a pair of Platoons of five Squads, each made of three Fire Teams of four Marines.

From Memory Gamma: wiki/Starfleet_Marine_Corps


	4. Chapter 3

From the last chapter…

The drop ships were 1 minute out from the drop zone…

As the drop ships landed, they disgorged its complement of Marines, the ships took off and took on an over watch orbit around the drop zone. With the fighters now in the role of providing close air support for the ground forces, protection of the drop zone fell to the multi-role assault ships.

As the Marines de embarked from the ships, they ran out 50 meters from each drop ship and took up prone positions around each ship until it took off. Each marine scanned their respective sector with their M155A2 Phaser Rifles. Marine snipers began surveying the edges of the tree line that rounded the drop zone.

As each platoon of Marines reported back 100% status, Capt. Troutman ordered his company to move out.

He commed his first platoon leader, "Tiger one (Lt. Skikorsky), your platoon takes point on a heading of 210 degrees off the planetary magnetic north towards the objective."

"Aye, sir," he replied as he motioned his men to get up and move out in that direction from their location on the drop zone.

"Tiger two (Lt. Korvath)," he commed his second platoon leader, "you have the honor of providing a diversionary attack on the Jem H'Dar's position from the east of their position. You are authorized to attack and reduce enemy targets as possible.

"Qapla! Shark one! It will be done!" The Klingon responded. As soon as he was done, he started to move his platoon in tow showing his eagerness to engage in combat. Dressed like his Federation counterparts, the uniqueness of his uniform displayed his Klingon batleth and d'tanga blades strapped to his back.

The rest of his company followed first platoon towards their objective. The engineer section took up position in between Troutman's command section and the trail platoon. Troutman's command section consisted of his communications specialist and Starfleet corpsman. The company first sergeant and his Starfleet corpsman followed with the second platoon during travel.

"Shark five," Troutman commed his first sergeant, "We're moving."

"Can't wait to get some, sir. Let's make it quick and get these Starfleeters some help," Jameson replied.

Each platoon was traveling in a wedge formation to allow for each marine to maintain a sector of fire and the ability to overlap fires among themselves. Since contact was likely, each platoon was using the traveling overwatch technique. Each platoon would send two squads to move forward while the other two squads were overwatching the movement of the other element. This method allows supporting fires from the other squads. Infantry tactics do not really change over centuries and the Marines were using methods that have been used on Earth since modern armies conducted wars.

All of sudden chatter came over the subspace com units…

"Contact front, 200 meters, enemy contact front..." noise came over the com unit from 1st platoon. Troutman listened to the exchange. His 1st platoon has engaged the Jem H'Dar.

Troutman had given prior coordination for his platoon leaders to use air assets at their discretion based on battlefield conditions so no need was the platoon leader needing Troutman's order for air support if needed.

"Air Shark, this is Tiger one, request attack on these coordinates…"

As Troutman overhead the communications exchange, he looked up to see the Valkyries zoom ahead and begin their attack runs. As they flew over where 1st platoon was, he could see the immediate effects of their bombing runs as they started hitting Jem H'Dar targets.

Explosions rocked the valleys and hilltops of the Jem H'Dar emplacements. 1st platoon had stopped and engaged the enemy by establishing a base of fire and fixing targets for air support.

….

1st Platoon area of operations…

The fighting was intense. Federation Marines and Jem H'Dar soldiers exchanged murderous fire. Marines augmented their attacks with plasma grenades which helped kill Jem H'Dar, but even with the accuracy of the Marines, the sheer numbers of the Jem H'Dar threatened to overwhelm the Marines.

Despite the heavy armor of the marine's type-II tactical armor, Marines were getting severely hurt by the Jem H'Dar weapons systems. Causalities started to mount on both sides. Heroic measures of Marines engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Jem H'Dar marked the day. Kill counts exceeded twenty by each marine and the battle had just begun.

Phaser rifle fired at close range ensured that organic bodies disintegrated completely. There were no wounded amongst the Jem H'Dar. Danger close air strikes by the Valkyries' were keeping the enemy boxed into tight killing areas in which ground Marines would converge phaser fire into the Jem H'Dar troops.

…

2nd Platoon area of operations….

As 1st platoon was engaged, 2nd platoon under Korvath began his attack from the east flank. The attacking Marines started making progress into the fight as daring attacks directly into the main body of the Jem H'Dar. Progress was tough as the unyielding Jem H'Dar fought without fear. Korvath was using a combination of his hand phaser and batleth to fire and slash through the enemy ranks. Spilling blood on the battlefield only increased the effectiveness of the Klingon as he savored the fighting. Seeing their platoon leader dive directly into the fight emboldened the Marines of 2nd Platoon to press the advantage…it was a good day to die…, not for the Marines, but for the Jem H'Dar.

…

Over the battlefield…

As the Marine pilots flew over the battlefield, it was becoming increasingly hard to pick out Marines from Jem H'Dar as the battle devolved into a basically hand to hand fighting. The Jem H'Dar were genetically pre disposed for better strength and increased speed fighting, but the Marines were giving them a run for their money.

The Valkyries' on board targeting computers were able to pin point each Marine transponder in their individual tactical armor, but upon visual sighting below, it was hard to pick out the Marines from the Jem H'Dar. Seeing the crisscrossing phaser exchanges almost made the ground look pretty if not for the carnage and death that each beam brought. Explosions rocked the ground and countryside as each side vied to get the upper advantage on each other.

"Shark lead, this is Air Shark," Chief Warrant officer three (CW3) Vasquez commed his mike, "Request danger close strikes, unable to visually identify targets on the ground. Targeting computers can identify friendlies, but enemy cloaking signatures are making it hard to pick out enemy targets."

Troutman heard this and gritted his teeth…the battle was becoming a royal mess. Progress towards the communications array was behind schedule and his company was having a hard time reducing enemy targets. Looking out over the battlefield, he saw Marines and Jem H'Dar in ferocious fire fights.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry about the delay…I moved from area of the country to another and it's been a struggle to get some time adjusting to a new location and new job…my goal is to get this story back on track and completed.**

From the last chapter…

Marine air was asking permission to fire danger close on the battlefield…

"Affirmative, I repeat, affirmative. Will inform element leaders that danger close air strikes are approved. Fires need to be directed if possible to mass enemy formations. You are free to engage targets per direction of each Shark element leader."

"Wilco, Shark lead," Chief Vasquez replied.

…

Company headquarters AO (area of operations)…

Bravo Company's indirect fire section was firing in a continuous volley in support of 1st and 2nd Platoon's attack. Fire was being placed dangerous close in some situation where enemy personnel were almost within 50 meters of friendly forces. Troutman's plan was to take 3rd Platoon and out-flank opposite 2nd Platoon's attack and crush the Jem H'Dar's forces in a pincer-like maneuver. Once the enemy forces were reduced to an appreciable level, he was going to increase the indirect fire and use his Valkyries to further reduce the enemy numbers.

Rear staging area….

A support flight and its personnel that had accompanied the Valkyries had simultaneously set up their refueling and re-arming base during the battle. Its function was to keep the Valkyries fueled and re-armed to provide continuous battlefield support to the ground forces. As the battle tempo increased, each sortie came in faster and faster for refueling and re-arming. The downside was that supplies were getting low and the company's finite weapons supply would soon limit the effectiveness of the air support over the battlefield.

Pilots were coming in exhausted and keyed up at the same time. As their vessels were being tended by crew chiefs and ammunition technicians, they were getting in a few minutes of sleep, eating small snacks or getting triox hypos to stay combat effective for the duration of the operation. The human pilots were beginning to feel the effects of fatigue sooner than either the Andorian or Vulcan pilots. In order to prevent unnecessary mishaps, strict adherence to rest periods was being enforced based on the pilot's physiology.

The commander of the staging area commed Capt. Troutman, "Shark lead, this is Den leader," a Vulcan Marine Lieutenant by the name of Torek, "we have 4500 Air-to-Ground Missiles, 3450 Mark XXV Micro-Photon Torpedoes in inventory. BREAK"

He paused, and continued his radio report, "Our power regenerator systems can sustain the power systems and on board Type X phaser cannons for another 45.6 hours at present depletion. HOW COPY OVER?"

Troutman commed his transmitter, "ROGER, good copy, Den Leader. Keep me apprised of any significant depletions or unexpected changes. OVER"

Lt. Torek confirmed, "Aye, sir."

…On the battlefield….

Troutman was moving his company deeper into the Jem H'Dar forces and even with the indirect fires from his company mortar section along with the air support, the battle was ferocious. After giving the order for danger close air strikes, he was having misgivings about the outcome of this mission. He needed a break through and it needed to happen soon.

"Shark Lead, this is Tiger two!" the 2nd Platoon leader came over his transmitter. "I have broken through to the Jem H'Dar's base camp and have it in my platoon's fire range. Request immediate fixing of forces at my location!"

"Yes! Tiger two, proceed with all due haste. We need to press this advantage ASAP! I'm giving you priority on all fires in your area. How COPY!"

"Understood, Shark Lead, this will be a day to sing about soon!" with that, Lt. Korvath signed off.

Troutman immediately commed the other platoon leaders, "All Tiger elements, this is Shark Lead, Tiger two has the Jem H'Dar base camp within fire range and is initiating a hasty attack at that location. All elements are to home in on his location for immediate attack on enemy forces!"

His next command was to his air support elements, "Air Shark, this is Shark lead, Tiger two has enemy objective in sight. Proceed to his location; you have weapons free status once you get there, no prisoners, maximum damage, understood!" He finished.

Air Shark responded as he overflew Troutman's location on the ground. The Valkyries' increased their velocity to the base camp. They had some photon torpedoes that had Jem H'Dar written all over them.

…2nd Platoon area of operations...

The Jem H'Dar base camp was positioned at the base of a mountain range which allowed only one way in and out. The location was very defensible and was proving a challenge to Korvath's Marines as they began their attack into the camp. Aided by air support, the camp was being hit with everything they had. Photon torpedoes were being targeted on any moving Jem H'Dar and any significant facility. Korvath wisely waited until the bombardment was over being sending two squads to directly engage ground forces.

Being the Klingon he was, he led the charge himself slicing and vaporizing each Jem H'Dar soldier he met. As he moved, he swung his Batleth to decapitate the first soldier he met. Using his phaser rifle, he shot another Jem H'Dar as it tried to attack him from his left. He was in his element, never slowing down nor succumbing to fatigue. In fact, he'd never felt better and met combat with almost like a childlike glee smiling as he moved into the mix of Jem H'Dar soldiers. His Marines were inflicting as much damage as they could, some even resorting to melee weapons as combat evolved into ferocious hand to hand combat.

Blood, Human, Andorian, Vulcan and Jem H'Dar blood mixed on the ground as the battle continued into the late afternoon. As more and more melee weapons use ensued, body parts, were littered about the battlefield. The smells of phasered or plasma-induced burns and dead or dying bodies created almost a surreal world for the Marines. Their only objective was to kill as many Jem H'Dar before they were killed or be killed….

TBC…


	6. Intermission 2

Marine Ranks and Job Descriptions:

The rank structure of the Starfleet Marines does not follow Naval tradition like the 'wet' ranks of the line officers of Starfleet. Marine ranks are derived from the traditional ranks afforded to soldiers and Marines of Earth's past.

Officer Ranks:

Fleet Marshall (5 stars) – commands normally the entire Marine Force, on equal with the StarFleet Chief of Naval Operations Admiral and sits on the Joint Chief of Staff advising the Federation President.

General (4 stars) – commands a Marine Expeditionary force.

Lieutenant General (3 stars) – commands a Marine corps.

Major General (2 stars) – commands a division.

Brigadier General (1 star) – commands a brigade.

Colonel (wings surrounded by the Starfleet 'arrow' symbol – silver in color) – commands a regiment.

Lieutenant Colonel (wings surround by the Starfleet 'arrow' symbol – gold in color) – regimental executive officer, staff officer or aide to general.

Major (gold 'oak' leaf cluster) – commands a battalion.

Captain (2 silver bars 'train tracks') – commands a company.

Lieutenant (1 silver bar) – commands a platoon.

Enlisted Ranks:

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (three chevrons above four 'rockers' or bottom stripes with the Starfleet Marine Corps anchor and globe in the middle) - Principle advisor for enlisted affairs to the Starfleet Marine Corps Field Marshall. He advises the Field Marshall on all enlisted issues to include morale and welfare of Marines throughout the Federation.

Command Sergeant Major (three chevrons above four 'rockers' or bottom stripes with a star in the middle) - At the battalion or higher level, the command sergeant major is the principle advisor to the commander (e.g., Major and above) for enlisted affairs and is at the top of his organization's NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) support structure. Able to advise the next lower enlisted advisor (e.g., brigade command sergeant major advises all battalion command sergeant majors within the brigade) he is the primary trainer of the enlisted corps within his organization.

First Sergeant (three chevrons above three 'rockers' or bottom stripes with a diamond in the middle) – The First Sergeant is the principle advisor for the company commander and ensures the NCO leadership within the company is trained to carry out the orders of the company's officers.

Master Sergeant (three chevrons above three 'rockers' or bottom stripes ) - Master Sergeants are seasoned leaders and technical experts in their field (e.g., Infantry, Armor, and Artillery) and advise commanders at all levels at company and above. The form and lead any formal training required by the organization.

Sergeant First Class (three chevrons above two 'rockers' or bottom stripes) - The sergeant first class or 'platoon' sergeant leads and trains the NCO's within the company and provide direct first level leadership to each squad leader. The platoon sergeant provides for the care and support of the enlisted force while in 'garrison' or rear areas. The platoon sergeant is responsible for the training and development of the platoon's lieutenant.

Staff Sergeant (three chevrons above one 'rocker' or bottom stripe) - The staff sergeant is the tactical and front line leader of any infantry squad or other type unit section. Staff sergeants provide immediate and direct leadership of the squad of nine enlisted members within the platoon. They are 'fighting' leaders and must employ weapons for direct and indirect engagement of enemy forces.

Sergeant (three chevrons only) - Sergeants lead fire teams of three to four men and take direction from the squad leader. He is the tactical expert in the employment of his weapons in direct contact with enemy forces. He leads from the front always the first to fire and maneuver during combat actions.

Corporal (two chevrons) - Corporals lead fire teams of three to four men and take direction from the squad leader. He is the tactical expert in the employment of his weapons in direct contact with enemy forces. He leads from the front always the first to fire and maneuver during combat actions. In most cases is subordinate to the sergeant, but is required demonstrate commensurate skills in order to lead in his place.

Private First Class (one chevron) - The private first class is the rank of the basic Marine that has completed both basic and advanced training. Regardless of their job or specialty, all Marines are trained as riflemen first prior to advanced training (e.g., weapon loader, combat engineer). All Marines can fight as Infantry should the situation warrant it.

Private Second Class (no stripe) - The Marine recruit regardless of background or education begin their career as a private. At this rank, the private is learning basic military discipline and his specialty. Upon graduation from his advanced training course, he is promoted to private first class to distinguish his trained status prior to assignment to a Fleet Marine unit.

Warrant Officer:

In the Starfleet Marine Corps, warrant officers are a specialized grade of service in a military operation, where an officer is given his authority through a warrant rather than a commission, usually for service in a single field, with the capacity of an expert.

In addition to the standard rank of warrant Officer itself, there exist several grades of chief warrant officers.

Warrant officer (silver bar with one black square centered) - WO-1s are technically and tactically focused officers who perform the primary duties of technical leader, trainer, operator, manager, maintainer, sustainer, and advisor.

Chief warrant officer 4th class (silver bar with two black squares centered) - CWO-2s are intermediate-level technical and tactical experts who perform increased duties and responsibilities at the detachment through battalion levels.

Chief warrant officer 3rd class (silver bar with three black squares centered) - CWO-3s are advanced-level experts who perform the primary duties of a technical and tactical leader. They provide direction, guidance, resources, assistance, and supervision necessary for subordinates to perform their duties. They primarily support operations levels from team or detachment through brigade.

Chief warrant officer 2nd class (silver bar with four black squares centered) - CWO-4s are Senior-level experts in their chosen field, primarily supporting battalion, brigade, division, corps, and echelons above corps operations. They typically have special mentorship responsibilities for other WOs and provide essential advice to commanders on WO issues.

Chief warrant officer 1st class (silver bar with five black squares centered) - CWO-5s are master-level experts that support brigade, division, corps, echelons above corps, and major command operations. They provide leader development, mentorship, advice, and counsel to Warrant Officers and branch officers. CW5s have special Warrant Officer leadership and representation responsibilities within their respective commands.

From Star Trek the Expanded Universe: wiki/Warrant_officer

From Memory Gamma: wiki/Starfleet_Marine_Corps

From United Federation Starfleet Marine Corps: . ?title=United_Federation_Starfleet_Marine_Corps


	7. Chapter 6

From the last chapter…

In 2nd Platoon's area of operations…

As Capt. Troutman approached Lt. Korvath's platoon area, the bodies, both Jem H'Dar and Marines were littered on the ground. Fortunately, more Jem H'Dar and their body parts were lying on the ground than Federation. Very few Marines were killed and many were severely wounded as Troutman's medics came through conducting first aid and calling for medical evacuation for the most serious causalities. Many of the walking wounded, not many, had their wounds dressed and given pain suppressants and got back into the fight.

Collecting these walking wounded Marines, Troutman formed re-enforcement elements along with 1st and 3rd platoons approach into the main area of engagement. Many of the Jem H'Dar soldiers encountered at this stage of the fight didn't put up much resistance and due to the effectiveness of Korvath's platoon, not many were willing to fight anymore. Looking upon the ground, the Marines could tell the Klingon's work and worried that he wouldn't leave enough enemy for them to reduce.

That thought was quickly dashed as several phalanx's (about 10 – 12 soldiers) of Jem H'Dar de-cloaked amongst the 1st platoon's area. Reacting quickly, most of the Jem H'Dar were shot and killed on the spot. Two Marines were killed outright at the beginning, but the swift reaction of the surrounding Marines finished off the attacking Jem H'Dar and quickly made them regret facing down Federation forces.

"All commands," Troutman commanded, "fan out, keep the formation moving." He looked down and checked his combat tricorder. Looking up from the screen, he commed his platoon leaders, "Tiger leads, we're approximately 2 kilometers to the communications array."

A series of 'ayes, and copies' from his platoon leaders acknowledged his report. All platoon leaders except 2nd platoon responded.

"Tiger two, acknowledge!" Troutman ordered

He waited a few seconds and tried again, but no answer. He switched frequencies and commed Air Shark, "Air Shark, do you have visual on Tiger two or any of his elements?"

"Stand by, over. Proceeding to their location. ETA is 3 mikes, over."

"Acknowledged," Troutman responded. He then switched back to the command net, "All Tiger leads, let's move, Tiger two may be in trouble!"

The Marines started trotting in the indicated direction. Resistance of the enemy forces at this point was dwindling and the Marines were not encountering many Jem H'Dar along the way. Short phaser fire fights dotted the landscape with what could be called a route. Passing a dead Horta on the way, Capt. Troutman noted that without the Horta, these Jem H'Dar would soon be chaotic and without direction and may make his job a bit harder. Without leadership, these genetically modified soldiers would fight in a berserker fashion taking as many Marines with them unless he could end the fighting quickly.

3 minutes later….

"Shark lead, this Air Shark, over"

"Go ahead, Air Shark, what is the situation on Tiger two's AO, over," Troutman asked.

"Shark lead, there is still sporadic ground fighting and it seems that our Klingon is singlehandedly killing anything in his path…" reported Air Shark, "Not much phaser fire, but I've detected several members of 2nd Platoon and they have stopped movement, over," he continued, "It's a frickin' bloodbath, sir,"

"Can you provide fire support to them?" Troutman asked.

"Negative, targeting computers cannot get accurate firing solutions on enemy tangos, over."

"Roger, understood." he said, "I've got the main force with me and we're moving as fast as we can to get him some relief, over." He paused, "Continue to hammer any enemy tango in the open and keep the pressure on."

"Copy that, Shark lead," Air Shark came back.

Troutman turned back to his RTO, "Can you make contact with the Starfleet officers at the array yet?"

"Negative, sir," the RTO replied. "There's still too much interference being created in this battle space. The Jem H'Dar are blanketing this entire continent with some kind of subspace dampening field," he said.

"Does the Starfleet contingent have radio transmission ability?" He asked.

"Unknown, sir. I could attempt to reach them by radio, but it'd be a long shot. Normal Starfleet communication protocols require automatic monitoring of subspace freqs."

Troutman shook his head. The Starfleeter's insistent need to depend on certain types of technology would be their undoing. It was hard to find a Starfleet engineer that thought 'out of the box" and would attempt some novel thinking.

Allowing his RTO to continue his efforts to contact the Starfleet officers at the array, he motioned the rest of his company to proceed on to 2nd platoon's area of operations. Moving along the terrain, mostly rocky and very little shrubbery, the Marines were encountering less and less resistance from the Jem H'Dar. Noting that bodies littered the battlefield, Troutman's men, if they were not actively fighting were collecting any walking wounded, patching them up and allowing them to consolidate ad hoc fighting teams to combine with his overall force. Any of the mortally wounded that his men came upon, medics stabilized them and placed miniature transporter tags on the wounded Marines. Once they were on, the medics signaled the support platoon at the refueling area and transported them back there. Fortunately, with the destruction of many of the Jem H'Dar power structures and emplacements allowed the Marines to use site to site transporters.

With the continued pressure put on the Jem H'Dar by the Marines, their command structure had all but collapsed. Fighting continued as bands of Jem H'Dar kept on fighting regardless of the perceived outcome. Troutman's company pressed on with to the final objective through the remaining enemy soldiers.

The communicator crackled, "…deration forces….in…VER,"

Troutman keyed his communicator, "Last station, say again over, you're coming in broken up and with static, repeat last, over,"

"This is Captain Sisko, can any Federation forces read me, OVER." The signal came back as the RTO adjusted the frequency.

"Sir, do you have a call sign, this is Shark Lead, what's your status, OVER," Troutman asked.

"Shark Lead, negative. Our encampment is being overrun by Jem H'Dar, request additional support,"

"Sir, we're a Federation Marine company enroute to your location. ETA is 20 mikes. Can you hold, OVER."

"That may not be possible, Shark Lead. Jem H'Dar forces are attacking at this moment," Sisko came back.

Troutman knew who Sisko was and wondered why he was on the ground. Normally Starfleet Captains never left their ships. Regardless of who was there, Troutman thought, he needed to link up with friendly forces ASAP or Sisko wouldn't be going back to the nice comfortable starship seat.

"Sir, I have air assets that I will task to your location, how copy, OVER."

"Acknowledged, ensure they do NOT hit the array. There are multiple targets to our southeast."

"Wilco, Shark Lead out." Troutman switch frequencies, "Air Shark, new tasking, I repeat, new tasking, OVER."

Chief Vasquez, who had been circling over the battlefield, was looking for good targets, responded, "Go ahead, Shark Lead, ready to receive."

"Air Shark, you are to proceed with all due haste to the array's coordinates. Federation forces are in danger of being overrun. Provide any support you can to the sieged forces. Ensure bombing runs do not go near the communications array. How copy, OVER."

"Wilco, Shark Lead," Chief Vasquez complied.

"Air Shark, element leader is a Captain Sisko, he has no call sign, but can be reached Starfleet coded channel…" he looked to the PADD that his RTO handed him, "…325.32, OVER."

"Good copy. Air Shark on the way, OVER." The Valkyries zoomed away toward the array.

"Shark Lead, out." Troutman then opened up a channel back to the company. "All elements, double time movement, NOW! We must make it to the array."

He commed Korvath, "Tiger two, what's your status, OVER."

"We are killing everyone, Shark lead!" Korvath came back.

"Roger, I need your element to break contact and keep moving to the array. You should be about 5 mikes to its location. Confirm?" Troutman directed.

"Negative, Shark Lead, I cannot see the array yet. Jem H'Dar resistance is still considerable, but they still die!"

"Tiger two," Troutman commanded, "Get your Klingon ass moving, now! Or I'm going to shove that Klingon toothpick up your hind quarters! I need your element at the array now! Federation forces are in danger of being over-ran!" he finished.

"It will be done, Shark Lead. Too bad we cannot kill them all, but my element is moving out now. It is a 'good day to die!'" Korvath replied.

With that, the remaining squads of 2nd Platoon finished any small skirmishes in and around the Jem H'Dar encampment, Korvath ordered his platoon towards the array. As he moved out, he noticed a Jem H'Dar twitching on the ground. Korvath pulled out his d'tanga knife and shoved it in the Jem H'Dar's throat. It wasn't moving anymore. Wiping his knife as they moved, they continued to kill Jem H'Dar.

…Company AO…

Troutman shook his head as he commed off with Korvath. 'Crazy Klingon' he thought, but they are excellent warriors in battle. He looked around the battlefield and motioned for his company to press on. Consulting his combat tricorder, he extended his hand and arm vertically overhead and motioned his arm forward indicating his Marines to follow. Trotting at a fast pace, Troutman almost didn't see his RTO motioning for him to check his comms…

"Federation forces, Shark Lead, this is the U.S.S. _Sentinel_, what's your status, OVER." Came the new voice…

Troutman almost smiled, "_Sentinel_, this is Shark Lead, request air bombardment on the Jem H'Dar base, OVER."

"Roger that, Shark Lead," came the _Sentinel_'s comm officer. "Our _Peregrine_ class bombers are at your disposal."

With that, Troutman gave the coordinates of the Jem H'Dar base camp to the _Sentinel_ and waited for the bombers to attack. He commed his platoons to be aware of the new air support and informed them to press the advantage.

The _Peregrine_ bombers began their bombardment of the Jem H'Dar base camp. Explosions rocked the valley in which the photon bombs hit. Pieces of Jem H'Dar equipment and facilities were destroyed beyond repair and any soldier caught inside was instantly killed. Many of the enemy soldiers died in place much to the benefit of the Federation Marines as they halted their advance to watch the destruction.

As with all battles, the fighting died down and any live Jem H'Dar soldiers were quickly taken out by Marine snipers as they tried to move out of the engagement area. The Marine Company had fixed the enemy's location, engaged them and reduced their numbers to almost nothing. The fighting all but stopped as the bombers finished the ground forces job and when targets were presenting themselves, began loitering over the battlefield looking for new targets.

During the ending stages of the battle, Troutman signaled his drop ships to begin their approach for a pick up at his location. He was going to use them to move his 1st platoon and the attached engineer section to the communication array. His 2nd and 3rd platoons were going to police the battlefield to ensure any prisoners or any Intel could be found among the enemy soldiers.

From his vantage point overlooking the engagement area, Troutman motioned his RTO over to him, "Get the Starfleet captain on the comm. I need to talk to him."

"Yes, sir," Corporal Rustov said.

After a brief exchange of initial communication between the RTO and Starfleet comm officers at that location, Captain Sisko came back over the radio.

"Shark leader, this is Sisko, report,"

"Sir, the enemy resistance is all but gone and with the majority of the fighting done in my sector, I'm moving my forces into your AO by air."

"Good, our forces just repelled a Jem H'Dar attack and we held, though I don't understand how."

"Excellent, sir. I'll be there with my 1st platoon element and engineer section in about 15 mikes, OVER."

"I'll see you then, Shark leader, Sisko OUT," Sisko finished.

Troutman switched comm channels to his internal net, "Tiger one, bring your element and rally at my location. All Shark elements, send status reports to Shark Five (the platoon sergeant) and consolidate any wounded his location. Send out EPW (Enemy Prisoner of War) teams and collect any Intel you can. How copy, OVER,"

The acknowledgements came back over the comm units.

As he listened in to the traffic between the Shark elements, Troutman looked up and saw the drop ships approaching his location. The battle was all but done and now was the time for consolidation, fixing their wounded and recovering their dead.

TBC

…The link up…


End file.
